Breaking Free
by Gottahavemyncis
Summary: After saving Fornell and ridding the FBI of vermin, Gibbs' family take a much needed vacation. Events during their trip cause ripples that change their lives. McGiva;team as family. Occurs in the "At What Price" 'verse,follows "What the Heck Happened",happens near the end of S6. WINNER of the NFA Happy/Normal Life Challenge! Life Changes, Rom, Drama. Disclaimer is on my profile.
1. Chapter 1

Prologue:

Gibbs listened as Secretary of the Navy Davenport began to read a letter of commendation from the Director of National Intelligence, praising and thanking NCIS and in particular Leon and Gibbs himself for their work in investigating the actions of the rogue deputy director of the FBI, S.A. Gehob. He wished his whole team, heck his whole family could hear this; Lord knows they needed it.

SecNav paused, "Gibbs, your team all here today?"

"Yes Sir."

"Let's get them up here! In fact," the Admiral turned to Vance, "I should be presenting this in front of your whole office, Leon."

Vance had an alternate idea that would save them time right now. "I hate to take the Secretary's time while we arrange that, Sir. Why don't we do this…let Gibbs get his team up here and then at our next awards ceremony you can present it to them or perhaps the Under Secretary, whichever works best for you."

Davenport nodded as his time really was at a premium and with an inward sigh of relief Gibbs pulled out his cell and ordered the team to join him in the Director's suite. He was glad Tim was in the office; he had recently returned to desk duty after a lengthy convalescence from his back injury and resultant surgery.

His team filed in with their best neutral expressions but knowing them as well as he did, he could see the anxiety. He gave them a subtle nod as he proudly watched them stand together, straight and tall. He knew Tim would need to sit, he started to flash a look at Leon but his boss was already speaking, "Good morning Agents DiNozzo, McGee and Officer David; please be seated." They sat and Gibbs stood behind them. As the Secretary read the commendation, Gibbs gave each of them a proud pat on the shoulder.

When the letter had been read, SecNav paused, looking at the three agents and their Mossad liaison. "I want to add my personal thanks and congratulations on a job well done." He continued and Gibbs saw a twinkle in the man's eyes. "Now, you Gibbses and yes I know that includes you Agent DiNozzo, have had a rough time in the past weeks. And I know that you have plenty of vacation time coming to you as Leon and I always have a conversation around budget time about having to carry all those days forward. I have a proposal for you: my family owns a beach house that I believe is large enough for your whole clan. Coordinate with Vance and go…take a break. At least ten days off and that's an order! And I do not want to have Leon getting phone calls from the local folks complaining about vacationing federal agents sticking their noses into their cases!"


	2. Chapter 2

Two Weeks later…

Tim grinned as he watched Ziva playing in the water with Geordie, Sarah and Tony. He jumped a little when the wave his girlfriend had just been diving into reached the shore and tickled his feet. He'd probably join them later, for now he was content to wade along the shoreline and watch the others. He and Rob were not enthusiastic ocean swimmers. Tim snorted to himself, it wasn't like either one of them had ever had the chance to decide, this was only their third trip to the ocean. Rob's third trip anyway; Tim was sure he and Sarah had been to the ocean before their father's murder, but neither remembered. Of course Sarah and Geordie had immediately taken to swimming through the waves!

They'd arrived at the shore late yesterday afternoon. Almost everyone had made the trip; Damon was the only one missing as he was still too new at the diner to take time off. However, he assured them that he loved his job and was grateful to be working; really…he didn't mind missing the fun…mostly.

So here they were. After figuring out who got what room and Gibbs had had to untangle that dog pile, they had unpacked, enjoyed the dinner Ziva and Tim prepared for their first night and gone for a long walk up on the cliffs and then followed a winding path down to the beach. From there they'd finally hit the sand a little before dusk. Within a few minutes Tony, Sarah and Rob were engaged in a 'kick water' battle with the wavelets crashing on the shore while the others steered clear and continued down the beach. It had been a long day, a long couple of months and they all needed to decompress, relax and breathe the sea air.

Geordie relished being with his family, new and old, after so many years in the USMC Special Forces. Now he listened affectionately to the banter of the group with noisy seagulls in the background looking for food. Gibbs wished he could just wrap his arms around all of them and hold onto these moments. Arm in arm, Tim and Ziva were looking forward to enjoying their vacation and had decided to do their best to ignore their concerns about Eli David and his increasingly odd phone calls. They believed the man was jealous of her life in the United States and was trying to manipulate her back to active duty in Mossad or returning to Israel.

Before they left on vacation, Ziva followed protocol and contacted her Mossad supervisor Officer Bashan at the Israeli embassy and told him where she was going and why, adding that unfortunately cell service was spotty at best. Bashan wished her a happy holiday and told her "not to worry about anything" which she understood meant that he would either cover for her or somehow convince her father to ignore her absence for a few days. She and her boyfriend needed time to themselves, time to talk about what was to come next.

That night she was content to walk with their family in the fresh air and provide extra support for Tim. His still healing back was stiff from the long journey and he needed a little help keeping his balance on the uneven sand. He leaned on Ziva a little more than usual and whenever Geordie and Gibbs were near, they'd take his arm and he leaned on them.

Now after a good night's sleep with the rhythmic sound of the waves washing up on shore and a relaxing breakfast, they were on the beach and in the water again. Rob was helping their dad dig the beach umbrellas into the sand. Ducky had given strict guidelines to avoid sunburn and Tim knew he for one wouldn't have a problem following them. He'd had enough sunburn in his life, thank you very much; he had #50 Sunblock on and was wearing a hat and a tee shirt with his swim trunks. He grinned as he thought of Ziva helping him apply the sunblock; it had made them late for breakfast.

Eventually the intensifying heat of the sun drove Tim further into the water and soon enough he was swimming and playing with the others. Even Rob and their dad worked their way in and they had an all out splash battle. Dr. Rob eventually ordered their prune-y selves out of the water and under the umbrellas for a rest. Never one to sit still for long, Tony found a kid's sand bucket and scoop and started building a sand castle. Building always interested Gibbs and he soon joined in while Tim and the others laughed their heads off at the monster castle that began to appear on the shoreline. Rob ran inside for the camera and took plenty of pictures as the castle grew and grew. They teased the builders that there wouldn't be any sand left on the beach by the time they were done.

After hearing some stomachs growling, Geordie volunteered to make sandwiches and bring them back out to the beach. When several different requests were called out he whistled his family into silence and when he had their attention, he announced, "Ham or turkey and cheese with mustard or peanut butter and jelly. Anything else, you get to do it yourself." He took the count, in truth he already knew what just about everyone would want and taking the camera which was in danger of being buried in the moat, headed inside.

He was in the kitchen making the sandwiches when through the window he saw a flash of light bounce off a large boulder on the cliff. He and his dad had been using the binoculars last night so he found them easily enough and looked out the window toward the boulder. He spotted a man watching the beach and taking photos, and from what he could see, he was only interested in Geordie's family. He grabbed the camera and using the telephoto feature got a couple of clear shots of him, one taking photos and one full face. Then he sent a quick text to Tony that he needed his help in the kitchen. He had a strong suspicion as to who might have sent the spy and who they might be watching and he wanted one of his Dad's agents on hand when he took him down. He still had his 'temporary agent' badge but he didn't want to take any chances. Tony came rambling in, stopping when he saw Geordie still carefully watching from the window. The watcher hadn't moved his gaze from the group on the beach. Geordie beckoned to Tony, handing him the binocs. Puzzled Tony looked through and then swore. "Dang it, can't we ever catch a break?!"

"Any ideas?"

Tony nodded, "Oh yeah, I'm sure it's the same buzzard you're thinking of."

They quickly made a plan; they grabbed their weapons, badges and id, and Tony his handcuffs. Leaving through the back door, they quietly walked up the road to the walking trail they'd been on the previous evening, knowing it would bring them in behind the watcher. They moved so stealthily behind the guy that he never heard them coming. Geordie grabbed the camera from behind while Tony slapped the cuffs on him, "Don't even bother turning around, you're busted, whoever you are."

The watcher kept silent but the motion caught eyes from below. The two men searched the man and confiscated a wicked looking belt knife and a Beretta holstered on his leg. By now the man was cursing under his breath and they recognized the language, Geordie because he spoke it, Tony because he'd been listening to his teammate speak it for years now. As they marched him back to the house, they were joined by Gibbs while Ziva and Tim shepherded Sarah and Rob back into the house.

Both groups converged on the house at the same time and Ziva swore eloquently when she saw the man. There hadn't been much doubt as to who was behind this but her words removed even that slim little slice of possibility that this might not be the doings of Eli David. Gibbs was royally upset but knew he had to hold it together for his two youngest, the civilians of the family. They sat the man down, cuffing his ankles as well as his wrists and Gibbs questioned him. Ziva grabbed Gibbs' phone and took a photo of the watcher all trussed up and threatened to send the photo to Mossad HQ so that everyone could see how ineffectual he was. That did more to loosen the man's tongue than anything else they could have done. Through his sputtering anger, he managed to let them know he was following direct orders from the Director of Mossad.

XXX

Before they'd left home yesterday, Tim and Ziva had decided they would shut their electronic devices off while they were on vacation and the rest of the family had a pool going for who caved first. Now Ziva dug her phone out of her bag and found she'd missed several calls, all from her Mossad supervisor Bashan. She stepped away to listen to the messages and almost immediately hurried back into the room, motioning to Gibbs. With Tim's help, Tony took over the questioning while Gibbs followed her to the back porch.

"Gibbs, it is Bashan. You know I told him where we would be and he approved. Listen to this…" She held the phone up so Gibbs could hear the message.

"Ziva, it is imperative you call me, your American family is in danger." At Gibbs' urging she called Bashan and explained that they had discovered the spy. He sighed, "Ziva, your family…the Americans…are in danger, grave danger. This one is not the only one out there. Your father… I have tried to reason but he no longer listens to reason or to me." Ziva told him not to worry and thanked him, disconnecting.

She turned to Gibbs who was visibly fuming. "He's threatening our family, Ziva, he's out of control; this is a clear threat! Start securing the house; keep everyone away from the windows, especially Sarah and Rob. " She nodded and left him to get started.

Gibbs mulled over their options. As long as their cells worked, they were safer here than they would be in the cars driving into town. He suddenly worried about the cells and called for Tim. "Son, we need to check for bugs on our phones."

Tim nodded, "And in the house too."

"Yeah."

Tim checked his dad's phone first, "You're ok for internal bugs but we don't know what equipment they've got trained on us; I'll ask Ziva."

"You have one of your sniffers?"

"Yeah, it lives in my laptop bag."

"I'm going to call Vance; help secure the house."

Tim nodded and gently tugged his father away from the windowed back door. Gibbs gave himself a head slap for not thinking about his own safety as he pressed the contact number for Vance's cell.


	3. Chapter 3

Thanks for the reads, follows, faves and reviews, glad you're enjoying this!

Thanks to my beta, HarmonFreak1!

For those of you following Finding Home, the next chapter will be posted Monday afternoon or evening.

* * *

Chapter Two

Vance's cell went to voice mail so after leaving a terse message, Gibbs called the Director's office phone and got voice mail again. He growled; they did not have time to wait for calls to be returned. He went through his contacts and found the number he needed. Luckily that person was there and listened carefully to what Gibbs had to say and then to Ziva's message from Bashan.

"Everyone's together? "

"Yeah in the house; Ziva believes they won't make a move until sunset."

"All right, I'll get the locals on it and then get busy. Stay low and safe and we'll get help to you and get the wolves away."

"Thanks Tom." Gibbs felt marginally better when they disconnected. Within 45 minutes a sheriff's car and 2 dark SUVs pulled up as close as they could to the back door. After carefully checking the badges of the sheriff and one of the deputies, they were allowed in. "Agent Gibbs, I've been briefed by Homeland; my orders are to secure your safety here in the house."

Gibbs nodded, "Appreciate that Sheriff, got my whole family here. Come on, you can meet them."

The deputy stood guard at the door while Gibbs and the Sheriff walked to the living room. The drapes had been pulled and the lights were off but there was enough natural light coming in from the other rooms that they could still see but not enough so that they were casting shadows against the drapes. The Sheriff nodded at the prisoner who was now also wearing a gag as well as the ankle and wrist cuffs.

"He get out of control did he?"

Tim who was guarding their spy spoke without looking up. "Tried. It was either gag him or…never mind, he's gagged."

Gibbs phone rang and he sighed as he looked at the id. "This is Gibbs. Yes sir, the Sheriff's here and he's got deputies outside. No sir, Homeland is working on it…sir, would you repeat that please?"

He listened and then thanked his caller and hung up. He spoke to the room, "SecNav says State is on it, they're working with the Israelis to resolve the problem."

Ziva spoke angrily in Hebrew and eyes widened on everyone but Sarah, Rob and the sheriff who was still caught up in the words 'SecNav', State and the Israelis.

Tony looked at Ziva, "Who does Mossad report to?"

Ziva spoke, "The Knesset, it is like the American Congress."

"Mossad…these people after you are Mossad?" The sheriff swore only to be surprised by chuckling around the room. Gibbs patted him on the shoulder, "Ziva is a Mossad agent who works with us. Her father is the one after us; he's the Director of Mossad."

The sheriff's eyes widened even further, "You said…SecNav…that the Secretary of the Navy?"

"Yep, our boss."

"Holy moley, who are you people? The Secretary of the Navy calls you; you have the head of a powerful foreign agency after you…"

"First of all, this house belongs to Admiral Davenport, the Secretary of the Navy. He loaned it to us after some…problems we've had lately."

"With Mossad?"

"No, a rogue director of the FBI."

The sheriff looked around to see where the hidden cameras must be; surely he was being 'punked'. Except the weapons these people had on them… geez, were they all wearing knives and carrying Sigs?

One of the taller men shook his head, "We're not kidding or scamming you, sheriff. That one came about because we were helping a friend of ours, an FBI agent."

"And you people are…?"

"NCIS."

The man relaxed a bit, "Of course, connected to the Navy and Marines. I'm a former Marine myself." That brought nods from the older man and the stockier guy who turned out to be a Marine Lieutenant no less.

The sheriff and the deputy took the prisoner and hauled him away in one of the SUVS. They left the sheriff's car behind, parked prominently in front of the house, along with the other SUV and three deputies. Sunset was still a couple of hours away so they got to work on better securing the house.

Gibbs and Tim pulled Sarah and Rob aside. "When we tell you to or if any shooting starts, you two are to head up to the attic and stay there until we come to get you. Got that?" They were both scared but confident that more help was on the way. Tim led them in a practice run to the attic and had them add pillows, blankets, water and food up there. Sarah looked around, "There's one major thing missing."

"I know, a bathroom, right?"

She nodded.

Tim shook his head, "Best I can do is a couple of buckets, Sari. But you shouldn't be up here for long…if you're even up here at all."

The three of them walked back downstairs and noticed several new security measures the others had put together. As the sun sank behind the cliffs, Gibbs' phone rang again and everyone froze. He pressed the speaker button as he answered the call. "Agent Gibbs."

"Gibbs, it's Tom Morrow. Is Officer David listening in?"

"Yes, you're on speaker."

"Very well. First of all, after being given direct orders, Mossad has recalled its operatives from the mission, we have confirmation of that. All the operatives were contacted and in front of witnesses, David gave the order to abort the mission and they've left the area. We had to bring Officer Bashan in to help us but since he was the one who gave the warning, we decided we could trust him with this and the Israeli Ambassador vouched for him."

Ziva blinked as she replied to Morrow. "Yes, you're right, the warning was an extraordinary thing, I've never heard of that happening before. He risked his career and freedom to do that."

Morrow spoke, "I believe he will be all right, Officer David." He paused before continuing, "The Israeli government has promised a full investigation which I'm told Director David is protesting since he cooperated by rescinding the orders he never should have given in the first place. So you can stand down and go back to enjoying your vacation."

There were sighs of relief from everyone. "Vance is on his way to my office, he wanted to speak with you but with the sun setting, I figured you'd be loading weapons and I didn't want to wait."

Gibbs had a question, "Any idea how long this investigation will take? What kind of guarantee do we have…I mean the U.S. as allies…that David won't pull the same thing again? He's got a lot of power and covert operatives all over the world."

They heard a noise in the background and then the voice of their director. "Gibbs…Gibbses, are you all right?"

"Yes Leon, we are."

"Good. I'm sorry this happened, sorry I wasn't available, didn't know until…that's not important. I'm grateful you're unharmed and I'm very grateful to Director Morrow, the Israeli Ambassador, Officer Bashan and the State Dept. for getting this taken care of so quickly. I can't have my best people at risk when you're supposed to be relaxing and having fun!"

"Thanks, we were doing okay this morning and we're very happy to hear Mossad is out of the picture, at least for now. But what prevents David from finding some other way of attacking us? Are any of us safe? He's targeted our family; he's been bullying his daughter and she's resisted. So he changed his game plan and came after all of us, using the resources of his agency for a personal vendetta. How do we know it won't happen again? He has a lot of power; I'd feel a lot safer if they'd taken stronger measures against him."

Morrow sighed. "You're right of course Jethro. But from their perspective, Eli David has been a big part of keeping Israel going. They've trusted him for years so now, and I'm speculating here, they must feel he's owed an investigation."

"Good for Israel but Tom, that doesn't help us here. We'll be standing guard tonight, Directors, with him still in power and just waiting for an investigation that could take what? Days, weeks…months? He may have other resources, heck he may even feel he has nothing left to lose! We'll stay here because we have a better chance of surviving in the house than on the road in multiple vehicles. We're not just NCIS agents, my two youngest are here… civilians. Haven't they been through enough?"

"Jethro…"

Vance interrupted whatever Morrow had been about to say. "He's right Tom and I won't have them held hostage by this situation. The reluctance of the Israeli government to remove him from office is allowing Eli David to hold my agents and their family – U.S. citizens – captive. Eli is a very shrewd operative; he runs covert operations all the time. If he's flipped out this much, what's to prevent him from arranging another attack? I would say that David still having access to Mossad resources presents a clear and present danger to our citizens."

"What would you suggest we do?"

"Make a complaint to the United Nations, ask for an immediate sanction."

There was silence on the line while Morrow presumably thought it through. "All right, Leon, let me get working on this." Gibbs agreed to a call back when the two Directors had news for them. In the meantime, the sun had disappeared below the horizon and with Ziva, Geordie and former sniper Gibb's advice, the deputies deployed around the area.

XXX

In Washington, Deputy Director Morrow contacted the State Department and relayed their fears and once he had their interest, made a shrewd proposal. State eventually agreed and once again called in the Israeli ambassador. She thought she'd been horrified at what she'd already learned today but what she was told was about to happen would be far worse and she asked for two hours to come up with an alternate solution. She was back in just under an hour with the news that the State Dept. and everyone else had hoped for.

XXX

Gibbs' phone rang a little after 2300 and the family, gathered in the darkened living room, tensed. Gibbs answered and put the call on speaker. "Gibbs."

"Jethro, it's Tom and Leon and we have news. Are we on speaker?"

"Yeah."

"All right, you've always been a bottom line kind of guy so here it is. Pending the investigation, Director David has been placed on administrative leave and is sequestered at his home; he is under the guard of the Israeli Army over which he has no authority, never has, all his electronic devices have been removed, computers, phones, cell phones, a stash of burn phones, everything. All members of Mossad have been given a direct order to avoid contact of any kind with him. Assistant Director Elbaz has been named Acting Director of Mossad and she spoke directly with our Secretary of State. There will be no further threats, no actions taken against any of you or anyone else in the US, including Ms. David. Jethro, you were right… Elbaz confirmed that while there are no longer any Mossad operatives in the state, there were three operatives on their way from DC and she hinted they were Kidon. They were intercepted, she personally spoke with them, giving them direct orders to stand down; they are currently being held in secure quarters by Officer Bashan at the Israeli embassy; they will be shipped home on the next flight. Your concerns were valid; they admitted they were operating under orders given to them by former Director David _after_ he told his bosses that he'd called off the mission."

Gibbs shook his head. "Unbelievable." He looked at his kids; they were in varying states of anger, relief and fear. He wasn't ready to trust that the danger was past and neither Vance nor Morrow argued with him. The guards stayed in place for the night.

The family spent the night in the living room. The agents, permanent and temporary, patrolled the interior of the house, rotating three on duty and two off the entire night. Sarah and Rob spent the night huddled between whoever was not on duty but they were the most comfortable with Tim and Geordie.

When dawn broke the next morning, Tim thought he'd never been so happy to see daylight. He and Ziva made breakfast and some of it was actually eaten, but no one had much appetite. Their guards had checked in with them when their replacements arrived; Director Vance had contacted Commandant Ellison of the USMC and he'd sent two squads of his finest. While Gibbs was grateful for the protection, he was horrified that the men and women they'd sworn to protect were now protecting them. The morning dragged on, no one was willing to step onto the beach. Shortly before noon, Gibbs' phone rang and everyone once again gathered close. It was Vance with news.

"Elbaz conducted a check of all her operatives and has accounted for all of them including the Kidon. The Israeli government has permanently removed Eli David from office; he has been arrested for crimes against the state of Israel."

Ziva gave a strangled cry and Tim gathered her in his arms and moved them away from the group.

Leon finished with his news and answered a few questions from his agents. Finally Gibbs was ready to call it done. "Pass along our thanks to everyone, Leon, Tom? Oh and tell SecNav that his house is fine, no bullet holes."

"Yikes, yeah ok, Gibbs, I owe you that one!"

Gibbs disconnected, looked at his family and held his arms open. Ziva was first in, still shaken and relieved by the news. Tim and the others piled in after her and they huddled together for a bit. They pulled apart with a laugh when Rob's stomach growled. Geordie and Tony fixed a light meal and they ate it on the front porch, waving to their Marine guard as they packed up. It wasn't until the enlisted men had gone and just their CO remained that Geordie would emerge from the house. The two lieutenants looked at each other and nodded, they'd served together a few years ago although neither would say where. Geordie introduced him to his family and they thanked him for the help.

Although the crisis was over, it took a couple of days for everyone to relax again. When they finally did, the fun resumed and they enjoyed their stay, falling into a pattern of playing in the water until lunch, then heading out for various adventures. They spent a few afternoons on the boardwalk with its games and shops. One day they rented ATVs and had fun with those, taking care to stay within the area outlined for the vehicles. Once they had them on the beach, a race or two was inevitable, although they took care not to knock down their assortment of sand castles, now complete with surrounding villages. Ducky and Maisie, Jimmy and Breena joined them over the weekend; that was a tight squeeze but they figured it out. Another day they rented a boat large enough for the whole gang and went fishing, Tim confident in his ginger root and seabands seasickness remedy. By the time they packed up and headed home, they were an almost disgustingly relaxed bunch and even Tim had a bit of a tan. When Damon saw them sauntering into the house in their flip flops and carrying sandy beach bags, he just laughed. They ignored his laughter knowing full well they'd have to jump back into their 'regular' lives soon enough.

XXX

Tim and Ziva groaned as the phone alarm buzzed, waking them for their first day back at work. It was Tim's turn to make breakfast so he stumbled off to his shower while Ziva smiled smugly and drifted off to sleep again. Her boyfriend woke her again, this time with a kiss and then grinning at her, headed for the kitchen just as things were getting interesting. She muttered to herself as she forced herself out of bed and into the shower.

The week passed quickly. The team was at full strength with Tim finally cleared for the field and a couple of back to back cases kept them busy. By Friday afternoon they'd collared the bad guys and were starting the interminable task of report writing. They worked diligently until 1800 and then Gibbs stood. "Wrap it up and pack it up for the weekend." He didn't have to say it twice; he could swear he felt a breeze as the three raced for the elevator. He chuckled as he packed his own gear and headed out. He'd see them all at dinner on Sunday.

XXX

With the removal of Eli David and his threats from their lives, Tim and Ziva's relationship grew even stronger. Ziva told Tim what obstacle they faced to their life together: Mossad rules. Mossad officers had to have their supervising officer's permission to marry and it was rarely given unless both parties were Mossad and had never been given if one of the parties was a non-Israeli.

With that challenge firmly in mind, they spent a lot of time talking about their future and finally developed a plan that would allow them to share that future together_. _Realizing he needed some help,Tim confided in Gram about his plan to propose to Ziva and his need for a unique ring, something that fit her fire and determination as well as her sweetness. Gram sat him down and told him that since the "Discovery" as the family called Tim and Sarah's reappearance and discovery of Tim's paternity, she, Penny and Jack had had several conversations about the children. One of their favorite topics, she said, was the various rings and jewelry belonging to the Stirlings, Hubbards, Langstons, McGees, Gibbses and Baxters, the latter being the family of Tim's paternal grandmother Anne.

In anticipation of this happy occasion the three grandparents had consolidated the various jewelry items into one safety deposit box, to which each had a key. So one bright morning Gram and Tim took a trip to the savings deposit box where Gram carefully laid out the envelopes with each family's collection of rings, covering up the names. She removed the engagement rings from the three envelopes and laid them out on the table and Tim's eye was immediately drawn to one particular ring. The centerpiece of the setting was a stone Tim wasn't familiar with but it had a topaz on each side and the end pieces were diamonds. It was a beautifully unique ring and reminded him so much of Ziva, he knew it was the right one.

He looked at Maisie who smiled, "That was your great-grandmother Baxter's engagement ring." She removed a piece of paper, folded very small, from one of the envelopes and gave it to him. Opening it up, he recognized the handwriting as Jack's and read the note aloud:

"This engagement ring belonged to Sarah Abigail Hoines Baxter, the mother of my late wife Anne Baxter Gibbs and maternal grandmother of Leroy Jethro Gibbs. The middle stone is citrine, her birthstone and the topazes represent the alternate birthstone for November. Citrine is a very scarce form of quartz; the alternate birth stone for November is Topaz. Both stones have meanings associated with fire and brilliance.

Sarah Baxter was born in 1900 in Shamokin Pennsylvania and met her future husband and Anne's father Robert Walter Baxter when as a teen she was sent to help her aunt with a new baby. Sarah died in 1965 and willed her jewelry, along with Robert's wedding ring, to Anne, her only surviving daughter. I know my Anne would want one of her grandchildren or great grandchildren to have this ring and hopefully keep the history alive. With love to my family, Jackson Gibbs"

Tim had tears in his eyes as he read. This was his history, his family and it was perfect for Ziva and not just because of the ring. Bereft of her own mother and sister, estranged from her father, he hoped she would see this as linking her with Sarah Baxter, giving her a strong familial connection through the ring. He wanted Ziva to be and feel surrounded by love and secure in the knowledge that she belonged with them, all of them.


	4. Chapter 4

Hope you enjoy - this is my favorite chapter!

* * *

Chapter Three

He had the ring cleaned but decided not to have it sized just yet, wanting Ziva to see it first. On this particular weekend, Tim made reservations at their favorite restaurant, asking for a specific table. It was the same restaurant and the same table where they'd had their first date. He knew Ziva would figure it out, she was a trained investigator after all, but that was ok. They enjoyed their dinner, reminiscing about that first date and how nervous each of them had been, anxious that it go well. After they finished their dessert, Tim took Ziva's hand, "Zi, how about we go for a walk? It's a beautiful night and the moon will be shining on the river."

Gathering her wrap, she'd learned to always be prepared as Tim liked to surprise her, Ziva took Tim's arm and they left the restaurant, strolling down to the river walk. And there on a bench facing the water, the nearly full moon shining brightly, Tim proposed marriage to his love. It wasn't the first time he'd asked but Ziva had always said it was impossible with her position in Mossad.

Now things were changing and Tim wanted their commitment to be part of the change. So did Ziva and smiling at her love, she whispered her response. Grinning with happiness, he pulled a small box from his pocket and placed it in her hand. Smiling, she slowly opened the box and gasped as she saw the ring; it was beautifully matched to her and her personality. She'd never seen one like it before, it was perfect. He put it on her finger and they kissed. After they came up for air, they walked back to the Porsche and headed home to celebrate their engagement.

Sunday morning Tim invited his dad over for breakfast, wanting him to know before the others. Gibbs was immediately suspicious but decided to hope for good news. When his son opened the door at his arrival, he knew from the grin on his face. He pulled his kid in for a hug and then gave him a kiss. "Where's my daughter-in-law?"

"I am here Gibbs!"

He hugged and kissed her too and then pulled back. "So, is there a ring yet?"

Ziva gave him her hand and he admired the new addition. "It's beautiful!"

He tapped his son on the back, "Good job son!" He turned back to Ziva, "I'm so glad, Zeever, now you'll always be my daughter!"

When they told him the story of the ring, he got a little teary and held his kids close. "Sarah's ring, I can't believe my dad and the others did all that." He looked at Ziva, "From Sarah Hoines Baxter to Anne Baxter Gibbs to Ziva David Gibbs, from one century to the next, that's a tale I will proudly tell my grandchildren."

They had a simple breakfast and Gibbs didn't stay long as they'd see each other at the family dinner late that afternoon. Before he left, they called Jack and told him the news. He wept when Ziva told him she was wearing Sarah's ring and again when his grandson told him the story of Maisie taking him to the safety deposit box and showing him all the rings.

XXX

They purposely arrived late to dinner at Gibbs', wanting everyone to hear the news and see Ziva's ring at the same time. Tim was flummoxed to find the door locked, but his dad opened it, grinning at them. "About time!"

"Dad, I thought we…" That was as far as he got as he and Ziva were pulled into the house and Gibbs whistled, "Everyone, eyes and ears here please!"

The newly engaged couple grinned at their family and held up Ziva's hand with the ring. "We're engaged!"

The ensuing wave of noise made Gibbs glad he'd thought of the ear plugs he was wearing. With the entire family in attendance, including Tim's godparents, both of his grandmothers, aunt, uncle and cousins and of course Tony, Ducky, Jimmy and Breena, the decibel level was dangerously high. It only subsided when the Admiral, after exchanging a look with Gibbs, gave a piercing whistle. When most of the crowd cringed and fell silent, Gibbs nodded his thanks to Tim's godfather and then laughing, addressed the mob, "Everybody outside!"

XXX

Two months later

As she stood in front of the mirror combing her hair, Tim gathered Ziva into his arms. "Today's the day!"

She nodded into his chest. "I am not looking forward to this. I know in the end it will be worth it but today will be difficult."

Tim nuzzled her neck. "I know sweetie; try to keep the big picture front and center."

She nodded again as she remembered the day she'd started the ball rolling on the changes that were happening in her life, shortly after they'd returned from the beach vacation. With Tim's help, she'd searched for employers in the DC area where her talent, experience and skills would be a good match and would allow her to work on a visa. Once they had the list, she'd updated her resume, figured out cover letters and sent it out.

While she waited for responses, the family helped her practice for job interviews. Having gone straight from school to Mossad and then brought to NCIS by Jenny Shepard, Ziva had never been on a real job interview. Sure, when she'd been undercover, but not when she actually cared about getting the position. When Tim first ran through a practice interview with her she reacted as if she was being interrogated; they worked on it and then realizing they needed more varied help he enlisted the others. Sarah and Damon, both having been on many interviews, were of particular help and Gibbs, Tim, Rob and Tony played various types of interviewers. Geordie declined, although he sat in on some practice sessions, as he said it had been too long since he'd been on a job interview. When she began receiving responses, Ziva was nervous. She'd spent her entire adult life in Mossad and NCIS, leaving both agencies at the same time was more frightening than she would admit.

The first week in which she had an interview scheduled she felt sick and nearly canceled but Tim helped her see that she was just nervous. Nervous! Ziva David had never been nervous about anything in her life but she kept her head straight and went for the interview. Afterward she told Tim she was glad there was more than just the one company interested in speaking with her because she was sure the interview had gone badly. By the end of that week she'd had three more interviews and freely admitted she hated the process. Laughing, Tim told her that no one looking for a job liked the process, it was a necessary evil.

When the first company she'd spoken with asked her to come back for a second interview, she was at first amazed and then scornful that they would be interested in someone who'd done so poorly in the interview. Tony was over for dinner that night and he laughed so hard Tim was afraid his lungs would seize up. When she was offered a job after the second interview, she asked for time to discuss it with her fiancé as there was some travel involved. In the meantime she was called back to a second company for another interview. As this was the company she'd hoped would hire her, she immediately accepted the position offered to her.

That had happened a week ago and she would be starting her new job the following week. Today was one of the days when she had to remember the 'big picture' because everything was starting to happen too fast. She was chanting 'big picture' to herself as she walked into Vance's office. She stood in front of his desk as she told him her news.

"Director, I have resigned from Mossad effective today. I have accepted a position here in DC with Global Security which I will start next week." She took a breath, "I've also started the process of becoming an American citizen. I hope when that happens I may come back to NCIS? "

Vance stood and shook her hand. "Yes, Ziva, I'll welcome your return once you've attained citizenship. This is indeed the end of an era. I'm glad you're able to stay in the area; we'll miss you here at the agency but I'm pleased that you and Tim have figured out a way for you to stay and not leave the family. Thank you for your years of service to this agency; I know it hasn't always been easy but it has been appreciated. The best of luck to you – I won't say goodbye because I know I'll see you at the next barbecue! "

She smiled and nodded at him as she left his office. Tim was waiting for her downstairs with her personal belongings. She stopped at her desk, remembering her first day and the guys not wanting her to sit at 'Kate's desk'; now she opened a bottom drawer of the desk and put something in, next to the small item of Kate's she'd found and left there years ago. As Tim waited, Gibbs and Tony appeared from around the corner and stood with him.

She patted the desk and said to her family, "Whoever comes next, let them sit here. Neither Kate nor I will mind." Already having a hard time losing their teammate even if for a very good reason, the three men nodded and together the four of them turned and walked out.

XXX

Ziva enjoyed the few days between leaving NCIS and starting her new job. She spent it puttering around the apartment, trying her hand at cooking new dishes and generally relaxing. When she walked into her new place of employment on Monday, she was touched by the plant sitting on her desk. It was a new one but the same species as the plant she'd kept on her desk at NCIS for several years. She knew without looking that it was from her former team and was grateful once again that they'd become a family.

She kept in touch with her Aunt Nettie and through her knew that her father was under house arrest, that the investigation had found him guilty of violating Israel's charter; of threatening their allies and using agency resources for personal reasons. He had been heavily fined but as his work as Director had for many years been exemplary, as evidenced by their continued existence, he was not sent to prison. The committee concluded that the fine, 12 months house arrest, closely monitoring his movements for an unspecified time after that, stripping him of all power, his security clearance and banning him from any future government positions was punishment enough.

As Ziva settled into her new position, she began to relax and contemplate a happy future with Tim. While she continued her citizenship classes in the evenings, the two started planning their wedding. Both wanted a simple ceremony and reception with family and a few friends. Ziva had a good idea of what she wanted for her wedding dress and spent hours online looking at designs. On the weekends, she gathered Sarah, Claire and sometimes Maisie and Penny when she was in town and they visited every bridal shop in the DC Metro area. In the meantime, they'd set the date, October 11th.

Ziva picked that date because, as she told Tim, "That was the day I joined Gibbs' team, the day we first met as partners, not adversaries. I remember you were so kind when you were all still mourning Kate."

Tim smiled as he kissed her, "So you're saying Fate brought us together on Oct. 11th and we should honor it?" She hummed her reply as he continued kissing her.

In regards to the wedding, they found they agreed about nearly everything, it was the type of ceremony and the location that caused some discussion. As a little girl Ziva had dreamed of a traditional Jewish wedding but with the deaths of her mother, sister and brother and her estrangement from her father, she no longer had any interest in it. Tim worried that her anger with her father was coloring her decision and he wanted her to remember their wedding day with happiness, not regrets that she hadn't followed her childhood dreams.

"Sweetstuff, I'll go to class, learn whatever, do whatever I have to for a Jewish ceremony, it's not a problem!"

"No Timothy, it is not that, my love. I would be the only one; no one else there would understand."

Tim took her hand, "We have time. The family could learn; you know they would, I would."

She kissed him, "You are so sweet, but no, it is no longer what I want or need, I am sure of that."

He made one last try: "Why don't we do this? We'll have a civil ceremony here and then plan on having another wedding, a traditional one, at least to renew our vows, in Israel on our anniversary. Your Aunt Nettie would be there."

Ziva smiled, "That is a very good idea, Timothy McGee!"

The next challenge was a location and Tim found the perfect spot by accident. While on a case, he and Tony were canvassing witnesses and came across a botanical garden with a beautiful glen and gazebo that would be beautiful for an afternoon wedding and reception. As they drove back to the office after talking to the witnesses, Tim remarked, "That place is beautiful!"

Tony looked at him, "Yeah? Not like you to get excited about a pretty landscape."

"Thinking we could have the wedding there and that big terrace would be perfect for the reception."

"Huh, yeah I guess it would be nice, didn't really pay too much attention."

Tim made a noise and Tony laughed at him, "Come on man, I'm not the one getting hitched!"

"First chance I get, I'm gonna call or look online and see if they do weddings."

"Great! Beats Gibbs' backyard."

Tim started to give him a look and then tilted his head in agreement, "Yeah, we'd have to do some serious work out there. We want simple, clean and elegant, not backyard barbecue."

"Ducky's yard is more formal."

"Yeah, but he and Gram are getting married there at some point; I don't want to copy them."

"Or have them copy you."

"Huh? Oh yeah, guess you're right!" They were back at the Navy Yard by then and hurried inside to update Gibbs.

Two days later when they'd cracked the case Tim took a break before he started working on the case reports and looked online for the garden. When their website listed them as a site for weddings, he did a fist pump and grinned. "Hey DiNozzo, want to go back to that garden with me after we get off work? They do weddings but I want more details."

"Uh, shouldn't Ziva be going with you?"

"She's working late tonight. Come on, it'll be fun."

"Fun…I don't think so but I'll go with you just because I'm a good friend."

Tim opened his mouth to say something and then just grinned. "You're right, you are!"

"We're taking the Porsche."

"Yeah sure, have to drive back by here on the way home anyway, I can drop you off."

"For a sweet ride, yeah, I'll be your wingman with the wedding people."

Later as they stood in the gardens with the manager of the place, Tim looked around. "Look Tony, I can just imagine us standing at the gazebo, everyone behind us. And then the reception up on the terrace, like I said."

The manager smiled, "Yes, that's our favored setting. How many guests will you be expecting?"

Tim squinted, thinking, not noticing his squint was pointed in Tony's direction. "I think with everyone, there'll be about 25 or 30? You think that's right?"

Tony looked at him and did a rapid calculation. "Yeah, that's about right. People from work…what about the new place?"

"No, too soon and no need to schmooze."

"So yeah, that's good."

"All right, so shall we say 30 then gentlemen? It's always better to plan for more."

The two men nodded, that made sense.

"Now, what kind of ceremony are you having? Formal, casual?"

Tim responded, "I'll be in a tux, so formal."

"I see. And you sir?" He was looking at Tony.

"Uh, a suit at least."

"You're not wearing the same thing as your groom?"

Tony stared at him, repeating the words "your groom" to himself; then he looked at Tim and they stared at each other for several seconds before they got it.

"Oh no no, it's not us together… no it's…I'm marrying my girlfriend…fiancée Ziva, she's just working late tonight; Tony is our friend, our partner."

That still sounded strange but Tim snapped his mouth shut. Tony had turned away and Tim could hear him trying to stifle his laughter.

Tim added, "Not that there would be anything wrong with it if we were a couple!"

Tony turned, "I'm a great catch, McGee."

Tim rolled his eyes and turned back to the manager. "Sorry for the mix-up. I'll be wearing a tux, my bride will be wearing a formal wedding gown."

"That's fine; that tells me what kind of setup you'll likely want for the reception." He looked at his clipboard, "Now, what about music?"

Tim realized he was being asked to make decisions without Ziva's input. "You know, why don't we do this? My fiancée hasn't seen the place, why don't we come by and take a look together, meet with you then?"

Tim promised to call to schedule their meeting and the two men rolled away in the Porsche. Tony laughed all the way back to the Navy Yard and Tim just shook his head. "That was weird!"

When he caught his breath, Tony agreed, "I guess I should have realized what he was thinking when he asked me what I'd be wearing! I mean, who cares what the guests wear?"

"I just figured he meant you as part of the wedding party."

"Yeah?"

"Well yeah, Tony, I'd like you to be my best man."

"Me? Really? What about your brothers?"

Tim shook his head, "Ziva and I are marrying each other but you're still our partner, always going to be part of the "Three Musketeers". That means best man." He paused and then looked at Tony with a mischievous look in his eye, "Or I guess you could be Ziva's man of honor."

"Um…no no thanks. I'd love to be your best man, Tim. But you know that means I'm in charge of your bachelor party."

"Yes and Geordie will be your second on that, so I'm not worried." Tony made a face at him and they laughed.


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter Four

When Ziva visited the garden with Tim, she loved the setting and they booked it. She had finally found the wedding dress she wanted and was happy that Tony had convinced Tim to have a new tux made. Sarah was thrilled to be Ziva's maid of honor and excited about her dress which was being altered by the same shop that was doing Ziva's.

Ziva also asked Breena to be a bridesmaid and was surprised and thrilled when she called her friend Monique and found she was not only coming to the wedding but also agreed to be a bridesmaid. In talking of their shared past lives as covert operatives, they discovered neither woman had thought she'd ever be involved in a wedding, much less getting married.

Once Ziva had her attendants selected, Tim asked his brothers to stand with him. The three of them had already talked about the difficulty of picking one brother over the other to be best man and agreed that Tony was the best choice. Truthfully, shy Rob would have been just as happy sitting with their dad and although he wasn't shy, after years of involvement in covert operations Geordie wasn't entirely comfortable with a spotlight anywhere near him. But they were happy to stand with their brother and readily agreed.

Gibbs and Ducky had many discussions about walking Ziva 'down the aisle'; at times Tim worried about their decades' long friendship rupturing over each man's wish to escort Ziva. When he threatened to instead ask Jimmy, Uncle Dave or Uncle Jim the two older men quit bickering and Ducky eventually prevailed.

Ducky also spoke to Abby's brother Luka and her doctors, hoping to find that she would be well enough to attend the wedding. Although she was greatly improved, the doctors thought that the flight from New Orleans to DC in addition to the wedding and reception would be too much for her. When he told Tim and Ziva that, they were quiet as they too had been hoping their former colleague would be able to attend.

The wedding plans gradually came together. The aunts, Claire and Liz, and Gram Maisie helped where they could: selecting the flowers and helping with the invitations, but some things had to be decided by the bride and groom. One Saturday they met with the caterer at the garden and taste tested several different appetizers and types of cake. They tried samples of cake including red velvet (Ziva's request), vanilla bean, butterscotch (Tim asked for that), a fudgy chocolate and at the caterer's recommendation pumpkin since they were having an autumn wedding. While the couple liked the pumpkin flavor they knew most of their family would not and they nixed the butterscotch also. Eventually they decided on the fudgy chocolate swirled with the vanilla bean and the traditional bride and groom on top. It would be three layers although the two main layers would be proportioned for the number of guests. Following tradition, the top layer would be saved and frozen for their first anniversary. Geordie and Rob were on task to select the music; both brothers knew what Tim liked and had been around Ziva enough to know what she liked. Tim quietly made one request of his brothers, to make sure that the music also reflected Ziva's heritage.

As summer waned and August rolled into September, the team was busy with back to back to back cases. They were so busy that it was only an innocent question from Ned Dorneget that made Tim and Ziva realize they'd neglected a few important things. One, their wedding bands and two – and this was Ned's question - where were they going on their honeymoon? The wedding bands were an easy problem to solve. This time Penny went with them to the safety deposit box and much to Tim's amusement, selected Sarah and Robert Baxter's wedding rings. Penny took them with her to have them cleaned, saying she wouldn't give them back until the week of the wedding.

When it came to their honeymoon, they were planning on just taking a week after the wedding. Between Ziva's new job and all the medical leave Tim had been forced to take, neither of them felt right about being away for more than a week…that is not until Dad took Tim for breakfast at the diner one Saturday morning.

"You two decided where you're going on your honeymoon?"

"Not really. We're just going to take a week so we won't go too far. Maybe the Caribbean or Hawaii."

"Still in hurricane season…Caribbean's probably got some good bargains but I'd rather you didn't."

Tim shoulder bumped his dad, taking the Caribbean off their list, no sense worrying the family. "I've never been to Hawaii. You have any place in mind?"

"Yeah, two of the most romantic places I've ever been."

"Yeah?"

"Paris and Florence."

"Wow, that's…that's a long flight, a day's flight each way."

"Tough, you're going for two weeks…no don't give me that look. Vance brought it up with me, wanted to make sure you were taking two full weeks. You need to start your marriage off by spending time together, Timothy, just the two of you. If you really want to go to Hawaii, that's great, but wherever you go, you're off work for two weeks after the wedding, got it?"

"Dad…after all the time off? Oh, but Ziva was working. You're right, she should have the two weeks and I guess I'll have to be with her!" Tim was grinning by now and his father grinned back, "That's great son, now is there going to be a problem with her new job?"

Tim shook his head, "No, she told them before she accepted the offer that she'd need time off in October. She was thinking one week but I'm sure I can persuade her to take two."

XXX

After discussing their destination choices, the couple decided on Florence, Italy. Ziva wanted to show Tim Paris in the springtime, they'd save Hawaii for another trip and she had never been to Florence, much to Tim's delight. When he went online to look for flights and hotels, he read through information on several different sites. After sifting through and filtering out dozens of hotels, he found a small one on a side street near the center of the city that looked like it would be quiet and close to everything they wanted to see and do. He read the reviews of the place on every site he could find and then had Ziva read through it and look at the pictures; from there they went to the hotel website and liked it even more. Liking the look and the location and feeling very comfortable with the reviews, they booked it.

Excited about their choice, Tim picked up his phone to call his dad only to have it chirp with an incoming call. He laughed at the caller id, "Hey Dad, I was just going to call you!"

"That's always good to hear, Timiny, especially when you sound as happy as you do!"

"I am! I'm excited - Ziva and I decided to spend our honeymoon in Florence."

"Wonderful, that's great and good timing because I have something I want to tell you about that."

"Dad?"

"Is Zeever around?"

"Yeah, hold on, I'll walk over to her and put you on speaker."

Ziva was online reading the "Wikipedia" entry for Florence but looked up when Tim walked over to her and put the phone on speaker. "Hello, Gibbs."

"Zeever." Gibbs took a deep breath, "You two…I'm so proud of both of you, proud and very happy you found each other and you've already shown your commitment to each other through some very tough times. And I…" Gibbs' voice got a little rough, "we were lucky enough to finally find the connection between us…Tim, we missed so much. Your trip, your honeymoon, I want to pay for it."

Tim's eyebrows shot up and he looked at Ziva in shock. "Dad!"

"Listen to me, both of you…like I said, we've missed so much, every birthday, Christmas, graduation…everything, I want to do this, son."

"Dad, it's so much."

Gibbs managed a chuckle, "Would you rather I buy you presents for each of the birthdays, Christmases, graduations and other events that I missed?"

"No but…"

"Tim, I have the money if that's what you're worried about. For all of Tony's clowning around about it over the years, I don't pay alimony to anyone, the house is paid for and I don't have that many expenses. You're paying for your own wedding; I thought about it but decided I'd rather pay for your honeymoon trip."

"Gibbs, this is so generous."

"You're my kids, Ziva." Tim looked at Ziva, worried and she nodded, she had this. "Gibbs, we are your kids, but we are not your only children."

"Got them covered."

The couple looked at each other and nodded. "Dad, you're unbelievably generous, yes we love your gift!"

"That's a relief. I was worried I'd have a bigger fight on my hands."

"Guess we've learned some about family, Dad."

"Me too, Timothy. Oh, hey when you make your flight reservations, make sure they're first class." Tim and Ziva grinned at each other; they'd planned on using their various frequent flier miles to upgrade to first class.

"Dad, we have enough frequent flier miles to go first class without extra cost. And we have to use them – Ziva's are expiring at the end of the year and some of mine will fall off then too."

"You sure?"

"Yep, sure of at least one way; we'll let you know, how's that?"

"That's good kiddo."

After they hung up, Tim and Ziva just looked at each other and then Tim lifted Ziva right out of her chair, "We're going to Italy and Daddy's paying!" They twirled around the room in sheer delight at Gibbs' generosity and excitement over their lives.

Before the day was over, Tim booked their flight from DC to Pisa; from there they'd take the train to Florence or Firenze as it was called in Italy.

Once their friends heard they were going to Italy, all kinds of advice started to flow their way. Through Breena's brother-in-law, they were advised to reserve seats on any trains they wanted to take before they left and also to buy tickets to see the famous statue of David. Not knowing yet where else they might want to go, they thought they might buy 2 week Eurail passes. Then they started looking around to see what side trips they might want to make. Pompeii went on the list as well as a possible trip north to Milan, Lake Como and some of the smaller towns and villages in Tuscany. They decided not to go too far afield, they wanted to relax and they knew there was much to see and do in Florence itself.

Tony and his girlfriend Darleen were almost as excited about them going to Florence as they were. During the weeks leading up to the wedding, Tony continually passed words of advice, things to see, drink and eat along to his friends. One of the most helpful things he did was to teach Tim key words and phrases in Italian. Ziva spoke it fluently but Tim wanted to know for himself how to ask how much something was, where something might be, the words for north, east, south and west, left, right and other important words and phrases.

Finally it was October and the weather was holding up well, with forecasts for sunny skies and low humidity. Ziva's dress was finished and taken to Ducky and Maisie's home for storage. As the brownstone was closer to the wedding location than anyone else's place, the bridal party would dress there. Tim and Rob's tuxes were also completed; those went to their dad's house as the groom's party would be dressing there. Geordie would wear his dress uniform and Tony of course had a tuxedo all ready to wear.

Tim's godfather and uncle had been away for nearly four months on a float and there was some worry when their ship, the Baton Rouge, was scheduled to be included in exercises in the Black Sea. The exercises were cancelled, however, when the crisis that prompted them in the first place was resolved. The ship returned to Norfolk and Uncle Dave and Uncle Jim were safely home 10 days before the wedding.

Jack didn't want to miss any of the fun, so he flew in Friday afternoon, a week before the wedding. Monique also arrived on Friday so Tim and Ziva gathered them both in one trip to the airport. That night kicked off their bachelor/bachelorette events. Ziva requested her bachelorette party be fun but not expensive or sleazy. After thinking about what her almost sister-in-law liked to do, Sarah arranged a paintball game for Friday evening followed the next day by a cooking class and then a tea. She wasn't surprised when Breena got excited about the paintball; she was however, astonished when her Aunt Claire, both grandmothers and Aunty Liz wanted to play. They had a wonderful time; although Sarah was a little concerned about the ferocity demonstrated by her Gram. The cooking class was also fun and a late afternoon tea topped off the weekend. Ziva was surprised when Maisie asked for a ride home but was perfectly willing to accommodate the older woman.

While the ladies were shooting, cooking and drinking, Tim had his bachelor events, carefully planned by Tony. Told to be ready by 7 PM Friday evening and to dress casually, Tim grinned as a stretch limo rolled up to his place and his dad and Tony climbed out to escort him to the vehicle. They drove to a steakhouse where they found his brothers, Grandpa Jack, almost grandfather Ducky, Jimmy, Ned Dorneget, Rick Carter, Uncle Dave and Uncle Jim and a couple of friends from college. There were 14 of them in total. They had a great dinner punctuated by a lot of laughter as Tony, Rick, Ducky, one of his college buddies and Geordie told stories of Tim in his younger years – the NCIS folks talked with love about the greenest probie they'd ever seen while Joey, his college buddy, told stories about their lives at MIT and Geordie told some stories from their earlier lives that made the others realize that maybe Tim hadn't been all that green, more shy and unwilling to share details of his past life. After that, they piled back in the limo and went on to a comedy club for an open mic night. Tim laughed so much his sides hurt and he really enjoyed seeing his father snort beer at least twice. The following day, Gibbs, the groom, his best man and groomsmen drove to a nearby marina and rented a catamaran for the day. Tim enjoyed every minute as they spent the day on the water, fishing for their dinner and reaching home just as the sun set.

While the others were out having fun on Saturday, Ducky and Jack had a surprise they'd arranged for Ziva, with the help of Director Vance and one of the linguists from the agency. Once the youngsters were out of the way, Ducky and Jack drove to the airport with a sign that Frances the linguist had helped them make. They had also exchanged photos with the person they were meeting so there would be no doubt. They stood as close to the Customs area as they were allowed, peering in. Jack was the tallest and he spotted their quarry. "There she is! She's through Customs; she'll be here in a minute." He and Ducky took the sign and held it between them while Ducky mentally practiced the welcoming phrase Frances taught him. When the woman saw the sign, her face broke into a big smile and Ducky stepped forward and greeted her just as planned. The woman kissed his cheek and said in passable English, "Thank you! I know you must be Ducky, I have heard much of you!" Ducky replied and then introduced Jack to Ziva's Aunt Nettie, both men relieved that she spoke more English than they'd expected. From the airport they hightailed it back to Ducky's, not sure when Maisie would arrive with Ziva. Nettie knew she was a surprise for her niece and couldn't wait to see her. When they reached the house, Ducky showed her to her room and then made her a cup of tea. Nettie was amazed that he knew just how she liked it. Ducky smiled, "Ziva told me years ago that you taught her about tea and she likes it just the way you do."

"Oh, so sweet, my Zivaleh."

"Yes, she is. Now would you like to get settled in or would you like to look at some photos while we wait? They should be here within the hour."

"It has been many years since I have taken such a long flight. I think I would like to freshen up and then if there is time, look at the photos."

"Excellent!" Ducky had already shown her where everything was, so she went off to unpack, shower and change. She was just combing her hair after her shower when she heard voices, her niece's voice. As Ducky was making tea, Ziva stood in the kitchen telling him of their day. Maisie was standing close by her so when Ziva heard another person in the house she swung around and saw her aunt. She blinked in astonishment and then in tears as she went into her aunt's outstretched arms.

While they were catching up, Jack sent a text to Tim asking him to pick him up at Ducky's. When he had a return text from his son, Jack sent him a rather testy reply that nothing was wrong and he wanted Tim. He'd forgotten that his son and two of his grandsons were trained investigators; Gibbs had known something was up with his dad for days now; he'd been like a kid with a big secret. He figured it was some sort of surprise for Tim and Ziva and he didn't want to mess with it, so he shrugged it off and told Tim he guessed his grandfathers wanted some extra time with him. Tim was just glad he'd washed up after they'd been fishing; he hoped he smelled like soap and sunshine rather than fish or fishy bait. He pulled a clean shirt out of his go bag, changed and headed off to Ducky's.

He wasn't horribly surprised to see Ziva's Mini when he pulled up but was very curious to see what his grandfathers were up to. When he walked in, his jaw dropped as he saw Ziva in the arms of a woman whose photo stood on the fireplace mantle at home. He must have made a noise as the two women parted and Tim joined them, "Nettie? Aunt Nettie?" He greeted her in Hebrew and she kissed him softly, welcoming him to her family. That brought tears for all of them.

Maisie and Ducky served an early dinner, knowing that their guest was exhausted but needed to eat before she slept. Ziva and Tim stayed until Nettie had retired to her room and then they took Jack home, leaving Ziva's car at Ducky's. On Sunday Ducky hosted a barbecue and pool party. Monique and Nettie got to meet Ziva's crazy family and as Tony said, "see us in our native habitat". It was a fun afternoon complete with a rousing game of volleyball. Ziva's aunt and her friend were heartened by the kindness, love and support of the family and both were very pleased with Tim.


	6. Chapter 6

A/N: Shout out to Guest Permean, thanks for that information!

Chapter Five

By afternoon on Monday, Tim was considering taking the week off. He was only scheduled to work through Wednesday, but he was having a difficult time focusing and was worried about endangering his team. They hadn't added a fourth team member yet, Gibbs had been procrastinating and Vance apparently wasn't concerned about it. As the team would be off rotation while Tim was away, Gibbs and Tony had decided they'd go through the candidates and whittle them down to a short list; when Tim returned, he would interview those who'd made it past the Boss.

After lunch, Tim went to Gibbs. "I think I should take the week off. I'm having problems concentrating."

"Don't suppose it's because we're working on cold cases?"

"Maybe, but if we get a call out I'm worried…"

Boss smirked, "We won't get a call out - I took us off rotation. None of us are 100%, not gonna be. But let's see if we can't close some cold cases!" Tim nodded and went back to work with renewed purpose. Everyone aware of the McGee cold case now seemed to have a different perspective once they'd seen firsthand the difference closing that 20+ year old case had made in the lives of two of their own. Vance was heartened to see the rising percentage of closures and hoped that would continue.

Tim and Tony grabbed a stack of files and decided to work on them together. They took the files into a conference room and went through each one word by word, looking for any hint of a lead. If they had questions, Tony made calls or Tim went diving into the internet for information, or in some cases both so they could compare notes. They didn't close any cases that day but by Wednesday they had some new leads to follow.

Without really planning it, the Gibbs family, Nettie and Monique had dinner together Tuesday night. As Tim looked around the table at everyone, he thought once again how much his life, all their lives, had changed since Tobias and Ron had sauntered into the bullpen that Monday, desperate to save Fornell's family. His dad reached over and ruffled his hair. "Thinking too hard son."

Tim grinned, "Just thinking how good things are."

Tony raised his glass, "I'll drink to that!" and embarrassed himself by hiccupping. They laughed at him while Gibbs told him he hoped he had his go bag with him because he was not driving home that night and then glared at his father. Jack had been telling tall tales out on the back deck for an hour or so before dinner, which meant Tony at least had had a few beers. Jack laughed at his son, "You worry too much! They can all stay over."

Sarah piped up, "Yeah, Dad, we can bring the extra mattresses up from the basement again, not a problem." Gibbs looked around the table and when Geordie held up the bottle he'd been drinking from and turned it around to show the label, everyone laughed and he groaned. He'd been played by his family; they'd all been drinking Tim's favorite lemonade, not beer or anything else alcoholic.

Wednesday was Tim's last work day before the wedding; the three agents went out to lunch, joined by Ducky and Jimmy. They had a nice time, probably the most relaxed lunch out on a workday any of them had ever had.

Thursday Tim met Ziva in the early afternoon and they picked up their marriage license. They'd already had an interview with an Immigration agent, making sure this was not a 'sham' marriage to a federal agent privy to classified information. The woman was at their place for a total of 5 minutes before she gave a laugh, signed two pieces of paper, handed them one, picked up her paperwork and wishing them a long and happy life together, left. When they applied for the marriage license, they presented the signed form and the clerk smiled, "Thanks, I already have the approval online, you can frame that, toss it, whatever you want. And congratulations!"

Thursday night Ziva and Monique had dinner together while Tim hung out with Tony. Although she'd been offered a place to stay with Sarah, Gibbs or Ducky, Ziva's friend insisted on getting a hotel room. Ziva was off on Friday so the couple made sure they were ready for their trip and ran some last minute errands before getting ready for the rehearsal and the dinner afterward. They hadn't planned on having one but Jack insisted and also insisted on paying for it, so a rehearsal dinner they had.

They gathered at the gardens in the early evening and were put through their paces. While Ziva was waiting for Ducky to start their walk, she was surprised by her aunt. Wisely, Ducky and Nettie had decided they'd better let Ziva know about the switch tonight, afraid it would overwhelm her if they waited for the actual ceremony. Nettie walked her slowly to Tim's side and when asked who was there with the bride, Nettie replied first in Hebrew and then in English. When Ziva reached Tim, she buried her head in his arms and they took a few minutes while he comforted her. Once she had her emotions under control, they continued with the rehearsal. They skipped through the vows, rehearsing the exchange of rings – and making sure Sarah and Tony knew when to offer them to the bridal couple – and toward the end of the planned rehearsal the officiant, a neighbor of Ducky's, added a phrase in Hebrew. Ziva's eyes shone again and Tim grinned, he was responsible for that surprise. After some research, he'd found the phrase and the translation and contacted their officiant to see if she was willing to learn it. The woman was excited about learning something new; she knew someone who spoke Hebrew and was able to easily learn the phrase. She'd been presiding at weddings for years and she loved that this young man wanted something special added for his bride.

The rehearsal dinner was a lot of fun with the wedding party mostly relaxed and ready for the big day. Neither Ziva nor Tim ate much but Ducky made sure they each ate something. Dad Gibbs made sure everyone exercised self control and held back on the liquor consumption, he didn't want any hangovers on his kids' big day. Nettie observed the care and thoughtfulness shown by Tim's father and grandparents and thought it was probably more parental love than her precious niece had been given since her mother died. The dinner ended at a reasonable hour much to Tim's relief. Tonight had been wonderful but he could see that Ziva was feeling drained and he wanted to get her home and cosset her, give her some time to absorb what had happened this evening.

The sun rose into a cloudless sky on Saturday. Tim and Ziva slept in as late as they could, knowing the day ahead of them would be fun, exciting and exhausting. Ziva had spent hours curled up in Tim's arms last night, talking about her mother and sister, the most she'd ever said. While they rested, their wedding party and their friends got busy getting everything ready.

The boutonnieres, bouquets and corsages for Maisie and Penny would be delivered to the garden that morning and Rob was on task to make sure they arrived, that the count was right and most importantly that the bridal bouquet had the correct flowers and stems. The caterer was all set, the cake was baked Friday night and the chairs for the ceremony and reception would be set up in the morning. The photographer was ready, his assistant would be at Gibbs' house for the groom's party photos by 11 while the photographer himself would be at Ducky's taking photos of the bridal party. Tim knew exactly how many minutes it took to drive to the garden, park the car and reach the glen with the gazebo, both from his dad's house and Ducky's.

Tony checked the inner pocket of his tuxedo jacket several times to make sure the ring Tim would give Ziva was still there. At her place, Sarah was doing the same thing, although with no pocket she was wearing the ring Ziva would give Tim. With her small hands, the only digit that was big enough to keep the ring from falling off was her thumb. She practiced taking it off and then realized she would need both hands and by that time she would be holding not only her bouquet but also Ziva's. She would consult with her fellow attendants when they were getting ready at Ducky's or maybe Gram or Penny would have a good idea.

In the Hubbard household, Callum and Ainsley were nervous, excited and starting to drive their parents crazy. They were the junior groomsman and junior bridesmaid today and neither had been in a wedding before. Ainsley was worried about her hair and Callum suddenly hated his freckles. Their dad took photos and a video of them dancing around the house, Ainsley's hair in hot rollers, knowing Tim and Ziva would get a kick out of their exuberance.

Tim and Ziva had thought long and hard about what they could do to honor their deceased mothers and siblings at their wedding. Both wanted to have some remembrance of Riva, Tali, Ari, Lily, Patrick, Kelly and Cmdr. McGee. They finally came up with a small table covered with family photographs of all of them, any they could find. In the center, surrounded by flower petals would be photos of their mothers, siblings and Tim's adoptive father. Through Frances the NCIS linguist, Ducky and Jack had asked Nettie to bring photos and she did, photos of her sister-in-law with Ziva and Tali, many photos of Ziva and Tali as babies and then growing into young girls…even one with both their parents and Ari and of course the one that Ziva cherished, the photo with her two siblings. Sarah and Geordie were in charge of the photo table and they were touched with all the photos of the two lost families. Geordie touched one of the photos of Kelly, "She would be in her late 20's now, huh Sis?"

"Yeah, I think she was a year older than me. It would be great to have another girl in the family, three girls, so much fun!"

They held up the pictures of Tali, Kelly and Patrick. "Tali would be close to Kelly and me in age."

Geordie shook his head. "Let's put them together."

"Won't we have to include Ziva's brother too?" Sarah paused in thought, "What if we put him over here…on the other side of Tali?"

Geordie looked at his sister's arrangement. "Yeah, that's good."

When they had the table arranged as they wanted it, they added the flower petals and a slim crystal vase with two roses, grabbed Rob, who was finished checking the flowers and left.

By 10:30, Ziva and Tim had showered, dressed and had breakfast. Neither was hungry but knew they had to eat so Tim made them scrambled eggs with cheese and toast. Before they left the house, they had a long kiss, knowing this was likely the last one as an engaged couple.

Tim pulled into his dad's driveway and laughed at the sign in the window that he was sure was Jack's doing: "Today's the Day! Welcome to Tim Gibbs' Groomsmen!" He got a thrill whenever he saw his name as Gibbs; he was so used to being "McGee" at work that he'd often forget his legal name. Ziva would keep David at work but had decided to legally take his name. He was a little surprised at that but hadn't pushed, it was her decision. He grabbed his bag and headed inside. His clothes were already here; he'd brought the tux directly to the house from the tailor's and his shoes had migrated over at some point during the week. He entered the house and enjoyed a brief moment of calm. His dad appeared and wrapped his arms around him. They stood there like that for several minutes before Jack found them and joined in.

XXX

When Ziva turned into Ducky's street, she smiled as she saw that parking places were marked out for each of them. Her own space was at the edge of the driveway; behind her was Sarah's, then Breena's and Claire's. They'd leave the cars here for the day; a limo would pick them up for the drive to the gardens and her car would move into the garage next to the Morgan while she and Tim were away. She wondered if Ducky had told his neighbors about the wedding preparations and then laughed as the man came out to put a sign in her windshield. "Really, they are that concerned?"

"Not taking any chances my dear. And I've just realized that you can move your car into the garage now."

Ziva nodded and Ducky went back into the house to open the garage door. Once Ziva moved her car, she grabbed her bag and entered the house. Her aunt was there and pulled her in for a hug, carefully avoiding mussing her hair. Ziva laughed, "That's ok Auntie; I have not fixed it yet." Maisie and Penny joined the two women in their hug while Ducky got cold drinks for everyone.

XXX

Geordie was still staying at the house so when he saw the Tim hug he joined in. By the time Jimmy and Rob arrived, the men were hugged out and Tim had taken his bag into the den. He would change in there and take over that bathroom as needed while the others would use the rooms upstairs. Damon had left a coffee cake for them with a note that he'd see them at the ceremony. He was still living in the basement but had paid off his bills and was now saving money for his own place. Gibbs dreaded his leaving, with Geordie stationed at Quantico he'd be alone again and after all this time he'd gotten used to some or all of them being around.

Jimmy looked around the house as he helped himself to a cold drink. He needed to keep his throat warm as he was singing during the ceremony today, but one cold drink would be fine. He remembered being here for something a couple of years ago, before Tim found out he was Gibbs' son. The house had seemed sad and tired, even Breena had said so. Now it was full of life, warmth and light, just like its owner. Who of course chose that moment to slap his shoulder. "Hey Jimmy, how are you doing? You all set for today? Need to warm up at all? Basement's too dusty, you can use Sarah's room if you want." The younger man smiled at the man he was still nervous around sometimes. "I'm good, Gibbs, thanks. I'll warm up right before the ceremony; don't want to have to do it twice."

"All right, kiddo, you let me or Jack know if you need anything." Jimmy nodded as Gibbs moved away. Hearing a car door slam, he moved to the front door and spotted Tony with his hands full. He met him halfway up the drive, taking some of the bags he had with him. "What's all this, Tony?"

"Hair stuff, a blow dryer, few other things."

"All of this?"

"Tim's hair needs to look good."

Jimmy stopped, "Huh, I was worried about this. Look man, his hair needs to be how he wants it, what he's comfortable with."

Tony wrinkled his face as he studied his friend. Suddenly he winked, "We'll see." Jimmy rolled his eyes but knowing Tim had plenty of support he decided not to worry.

The men's photographer pulled up just as Callum, his dad and Admiral Crane arrived. Callum nearly ran into the house, not wanting to miss anything while Uncle Jim and Uncle Dave hung back a little. Finally Gibbs poked his head out, "You two coming in?" They carried their uniform jackets and hats but were otherwise dressed and ready. When they walked in, Geordie was in the kitchen grabbing a bottle of water; partially dressed in his dress blues with trousers and blouse, minus his tunic, shoes and of course his cover. He looked up at the two men and his arm started automatically hitching upward toward a salute posture.

The Admiral laughed, "At ease Lieutenant Nephew, we can't be saluting each other all day!" He reached out and pulled Geordie to him, "Rather have a hug anyway."

The Captain stopped him in time, "Don't wrinkle the blouse, Dave!"

"Oops sorry son; wasn't thinking."

Geordie laughed, "Tim's right, you two are a bit crazy! Uh…sirs."

Looking around to find the source of the annoying little noise he'd been hearing, he found the photographer snapping away at the three officers. He growled, "We'll need to approve those before you print them, might be classified."

The Admiral opened his mouth to back him up but Uncle Jim stepped in once again, "Dave, Geordie, you're making the poor kid nervous! What's your name son?"

"Nick, sir."

"All right Nick, there's no need to worry; these two are acting out. But just so you know, officers in dress uniform aren't always happy about candid shots. Dress whites as the Admiral and I are wearing or dress blues as our Marine Lieutenant nephew is wearing mean it's a formal event."

"Yes sir, sorry, I haven't been around too many military people."

Geordie nodded at him, "It's a learning process then. Now, how about you get some shots of these two Navy guys helping me load the cooler with ice?"

Nick nodded, still nervous and the three men wrestled the large bag of ice out of the freezer and into the cooler. Uncle Jim whispered, "What's this for Geordie?"

"Nick wants photos of the groom's party out on the deck. This is to keep us all cool out there." When Jim looked at him, an eyebrow raised, Geordie laughed and shrugged his shoulder, "Hey he got what looked like a candid shot of us and I'm sure we can use the ice out there."

Snickering the Captain and the Lieutenant took the cooler out on the deck, trying to ensure they didn't get wet or wrinkled.


End file.
